Few food companies over the past decade have voluntarily promoted the use of genetic engineering on their labels. After all, organizations such as the Non-GMO Project have profited heavily by demonizing the use of biotechnology in agriculture and food. But one company that stood above the fray and celebrated this sustainable science was Soylent.
So, it’s been with some concern that my last several shipments of Soylent drinks have come in new packaging that has removed the previous mention of genetic engineering. The pro-GMO approach had been instrumental to their marketing, and it wasn’t long ago that then-CEO Bryan Crowley observed that the public was becoming more accepting of genetic engineering, and that the “the pendulum is swinging in favor of the science.”
But to look at Soylent now, under CEO Demir Vangelov, all mentions of “genetic engineering” or “GMOs” have been scrubbed from their website — the company’s blog post that was titled “Proudly Made With GMOs” has been taken down, as has the Soylent Help Center page titled “Why is Soylent made with GMOs.”
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The company still claims to be leading the charge in innovation, but their actions regarding biotechnology don’t bear that out.
